Do you love a good pav? For all of you who aren’t so familiar with this classic Aussie treat, let me fill you in. A pavlova is a meringue based dessert that has a crisp crust and a soft, almost cloud like light interior. It’s served with freshly whipped cream and a whole lot of fruits & berries. A very classic Australian/ New Zealand dessert that is widely popular during summers, especially Christmas because as you know, Christmas is a summer affair down here. Still can’t quite wrap my head around that honestly. Christmas is not really my festival but thanks to globalisation, we have been ‘sorta’ celebrating it since we were kids. I mean, we don’t have a big Christmas dinner or any of the gift exchanges or Christmas carolling or Santa cookies- so maybe not most of the Christmas stuff, but we did decorate a Christmas tree every year and made a gingerbread cake for dessert so I guess it counts? Point being, it was winters around Christmas and it was time for all things cosy. Going to the beach on Christmas Day doesn’t scream a whole lot of festive, or does it? Anyhow, now that I’m here and it IS summers, I’m joining in with the Aussie traditions and making a pav for Christmas! If you’re from AU/NZ, this recipe is right up your alley. And if you’re like me- an outsider looking in- maybe it’s a fun new thing to try for this Christmas in this very strange year! Either way, it’s delicious and if you’re a meringue fan, you’re gonna love it! There’s little time and effort involved, giving you enough time to reserve the slogging for the food and not worry about dessert. Pl us, look at how gorgeous that looks! It makes for the prettiest Christmas dessert for you and your family :)

Now, I have to confess. I don’t love meringue. I haven’t grown up eating it so I don’t have a taste for it. And I’m gonna be honest- a traditional pavlova is kind of a sugar fest really. All sugar and no flavour makes everybody sad so we’re gonna tweak it a bit. Instead of regular whipped cream, we are gonna add a tangy lemon curd to it and make a lemon chantilly (aka fancy French word for whipped cream). The tang cuts through the sweetness of the pavlova and adds a nice acidity and balance to the dessert. The fruits are your pick. I have used macerated stone fruits because they are in season but you can replace those with berries if you wish.

Let’s talk about the texture of pavlova for a second because that’s the real show stopper. For a dessert that’s mostly sugar, a pavlova is incredibly light and soft in texture. You should have a nice crisp crust on the outside, which adds a bit of texture to your palate. While it may seem super simple, there are a few tricks to keep in mind when making any meringue based dessert. Making meringue perfectly is a technical skill and one you MUST have if you strive to become a better baker. So how do you get it right every single time?

#NerdAlert - Breaking down meringue 101 (thanks to making 8 trays of Pavlova every day at work, I have learned a thing or two)

• Meringue is basically an aeration of egg whites with sugar. As the egg whites whip, sugar is slowly incorporated into it, which provides the meringue its structure, gloss and shine.

• It goes without saying but your egg whites need to be extremely clean for them to whip up properly. A single drop of yolk or any other fat will hinder its capacity to whip to maximum volume. That being said, also make sure your mixing bowl is super clean before you start.

• Adding a pinch of salt to your egg whites help in breaking down the protein in the egg whites and therefore whip better.

• Make sure to use castor sugar only. Granulated sugar doesn’t work for this recipe as the sugar granules are too large for them to dissolve.

• There is such a thing called adding sugar too late or too early: When making meringue, it is important to whip the egg whites until foamy before you start adding in the sugar. Why? If you add the sugar before the egg whites have had a chance to whip even a little, you’re essentially weighing down the egg whites and their capacity to whip fully. Adding in your sugar slowly allows for the egg whites to incorporate that sugar easily and dissolve the sugar completely while whipping, leading to a meringue that is more airy, light, stiff and stable.

• On the contrary, adding your sugar too late is a bigger problem: If you add your sugar too early, it will take you longer to whip the meringue but that’s pretty much the major downside of it. A little more elbow grease if you’re using a hand held beater. However, there’s no saving your meringue if you add in your sugar too late. When you add your sugar too late, two things happen. 1. The sugar doesn’t get a chance to dissolve completely before the meringue is stiff, thereby leading to a meringue that leaks when you bake it because all the undissolved sugar is now melted in the oven and leaks out. Not a pretty sight. 2. This will affect the texture and look of the meringue. As opposed to a smooth interior, the meringue will now look slightly curdled and foamy. As a rule of thumb, I always prefer to add in my sugar too early than too late.

• Lastly, the best way to tell if your meringue is ready is by doing two things: 1. Check for stiff peaks- Lift up your whisk and see if the meringue is holding its shape without falling. A slight droop at the tip is okay but it shouldn’t be sloppy or runny. 2. Rub a little bit of meringue between your fingers to feel if there are any sugar granules. The meringue should be smooth. If you can feel slight grittiness, it means that the sugar hasn’t dissolved completely. In that case, you can whip it a little longer. If your meringue is at stiff peaks and yet you feel grittiness in between your fingers, that’s a sign that you added your sugar too late. There’s not much you can do without your meringue getting either over-whipped or sugar leaking after it’s baked. But there’s always a lesson to be learnt with every bake so it will only make you wiser and better for the next time :)

• To make your pavlova a little extra foolproof, we add just a tiny bit of cornflour and vinegar. Cornflour stabilises the egg whites while baking and the vinegar (or any other acid like lemon juice) binds the egg white proteins and prevents from splitting. But these are added at the very last once the meringue is ready.

I hope that helps you in getting this just right. It’s a gorgeous dessert to make and so fun to share with your loved ones. A showstopper for your Christmas table that is sure to get you a lot of wows for the night! I hope you give it go and love it as much as I did creating it. Merry Christmas and bon appetite folks! xx

Recipe adaption: Will Goldfarb’s passionfruit curd recipe from Room4Desserts

Recipe

Serves: 8

Ingredients

For the pavlova:

• 200g egg whites

• a pinch of salt

• 320g castor sugar *

• 12g vinegar

• 8g cornflour

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the lemon curd:

• 90g lemon juice

• Zest of 1/2 lemon

• 40g castor sugar

• 50g egg yolks

• 60g unsalted butter, cubed

For the assembly:

• 200g heavy whipping cream / thickened cream

• 20g castor sugar (a)

• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract

• 1 peach, sliced

• 1 plum, largely diced

• handful blackberries

• 20g castor sugar (b)

• 10 ml cointreau

• roasted pistachios, chopped

Method

For the lemon curd:

• In a small saucepan, mix the lemon juice, zest and the sugar together. Heat on medium heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.

• Remove from heat and add in the eggs. Whisk to combine and return to the heat. Cook the curd to a gentle boil, whisking continuously.

• Strain in a bowl and let it cool down slightly for about 5 mins.

• Add the cubed butter and use a stick blender to emulsify, until all the butter is well incorporated. Cover with cling wrap and place in the refrigerator to set until firm.

For the macerated fruits:

• In a medium bowl, combine together the peach, plum and blackberries. Add the sugar (b) and cointreau and mix to coat the fruits with the sugar. Cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for a few hours for the juices to release.

For the pavlova:

• Preheat oven to 160 C (conventional)/ 140C (fan forced).

• Line two baking trays with baking paper. Draw a larger circle of 18cm and a smaller concentric circle of roughly 8cm to form rings on both the papers. Keep aside.

• In a small bowl, mix together the cornflour, vinegar and vanilla extract and keep aside.

• Place the egg whites and pinch of salt in the bowl of a stand mixer (you can also use a hand held beater) and using a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until foamy.

• Gradually start adding your sugar in 3 additions, spaced about a minute apart. Whisk until the meringue has formed stiff peaks and is glossy and shiny.

• Once the meringue is ready, stream in the cornflour-vinegar mix and mix until just combined.

• Equally divide the mixture in two and spoon the meringue mix onto the ring drawn on the baking papers. Using a large spoon, make a shallow trench in the meringue for the cream and fruit to sit in.

• Transfer the trays to the oven and immediately drop the temperature to 140C (conventional)/120C (fan forced). Bake for about 1 hour or until the crust is dry to touch. Turn off the oven, leave the oven door slightly ajar with the help of a wooden spoon and let cool down completely in the oven for another 1 hour.

For the assembly:

• To serve, whip together the heavy cream, sugar (a) and vanilla extract together until soft peaks.

• Add in a couple of tablespoons of the lemon curd and whip until medium peaks.

• Spread a generous layer of lemon cream on one pavlova. Place the second pavlova on top. Garnish with more lemon cream and macerated fruits with all the juices. Sprinkle roasted pistachios. Dust icing sugar and serve immediately.

Notes:

*- Only use castor sugar for this recipe. Granulated sugar granules are too large and will not dissolve.

If you enjoyed that and tried it at home, please tag me at @myyummyspatula on Instagram so that I can see all your bakes! For more BTS stories, updates and fun, you can follow long here: